Hopeful Sakura
by Nine1
Summary: Takeru has just been turned down. Luckily, someone comes by to pick him back up again. Mild one-sided Takari and Daikeru. One-shot, fluff, very small amount of angst.


A/N: The third Daikeru story in the three-Daikeru upload I am doing today. Rejoice. This may be the sappiest of all of them. Wait, they're all totally sappy. Oh well.

Disclaimer: **Sigh** I. Do. Not. Own. Digimon.

Takeru stared glumly down into the water. He flung another sakura petal into the dark depths. It stood out in its light, hopeful color against the black, obscure lake. 

He hadn't expected her to say no. He might have expected her to ask for time, tell him she had to think about it, or, in a worst-case scenario, tell him she simply didn't have time for a boyfriend and that she would tell him when she was. He did not think she was going to flat-out tell him no, she did not want to be his girlfriend. She didn't even add "right now", or "maybe some day in the future", just "no", as if she meant, "never will I ever be your girlfriend."

He sighed deeply once again as he dropped another petal onto the calm surface of the water. 

Once, Takeru might have told anyone with all of the confidence he possessed within himself that he was going to marry that girl when they were older. Anyone would have agreed. They had been telling him his entire life: they were perfect for each other, even _made_ for each other. He hadn't realized that she had been the only person who did not think this true. 

"Takeru, we _are_ perfect for each other. We're perfect best friends. I want to keep it that way," she had said earlier that day.

He had to admit, they were very close friends, and he treasured the fact that he had someone to talk to when things weren't okay. It was very comforting, knowing she was always there to listen to him, or to give him advice. 

However, now that she had rejected him in such a way, Takeru didn't know if he would be able to speak to her so freely again. He couldn't help but get a slightly sick feeling in his stomach whenever his thoughts turned to the soft-eyed brunette girl he had been pining after for the past few years. 

Why didn't she want him in that way? Was there something about him that she didn't like, that she thought she wouldn't be able to stand if she were his girlfriend? He wasn't bad-looking, he knew that much. There were plenty of girls at school that stared at him when they thought he wasn't looking. He had heard girls whisper to each other about how cute he was. He knew it wasn't about that. It had to be something about his personality. 

Soon, he was too busy trying to figure out what was wrong with him to notice the person walking up behind him and carefully sitting down next to him. 

He broke out of his thoughts when he realized someone was staring at him, and had been for quite a while. He turned to stare, wide-eyed, at the boy grinning at him. 

"You don't look as nice when you're sulking, Takeru."

"What?" Takeru asked, blinking.

Daisuke laughed lightly and reached a hand out to shake Takeru's shoulder. "Snap out of it. It's not the end of the world, you know."

"She told you?" Takeru asked, feeling the bottom of his stomach drop out.

"She didn't have to," Daisuke said, looking him over as if he were the most interesting thing in the world. 

Takeru watched as he stared straight into his eyes for a while longer, smile slowly becoming less bright and more sincere. Takeru found that it was becoming harder to keep his frown on his face.

"Hey, she rejected me a million times more than she did you, and a lot more harsh than she probably let you down, so you have no room to complain about it to me," Daisuke reminded him.

Takeru did smile this time, and he laughed shakily. He turned to stare down at the murky, black water, and tossed another petal in. He felt the heavy gaze lifting from him and when he looked at Daisuke out of the corner of his eye, he saw the redhead was also gazing down at the lake. 

Takeru looked back down and slowly closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Thank you."

"Hmm?"

"You know, for caring."

Takeru felt the gaze on him again and he felt his cheeks growing warmer, for some reason he couldn't fathom. He grabbed a handful of the petals on the grass and lifted his hand to fling them out onto the water, but his hand stopped in mid-throw. Takeru blinked and turned to watch as Daisuke brought his fist up to his own nose, slowly opening Takeru's fist with his fingers and sniffing the petals deeply. Daisuke closed his eyes, seeming to take the sweet smell in, and then he looked up to smile softly at Takeru.

Takeru stared at him blankly, wondering why in the world Daisuke had just sniffed the petals in his hand. Daisuke bent his head once more and his nose touched Takeru's palm, brushing over it as he sort-of nuzzled it while sniffing, and the gesture made Takeru's heart skip a beat, because he could feel the redhead's lips lightly brushing over his palm as well.

"What are you doing?" he asked a little breathlessly.

"It's relaxing," Daisuke said. "The smell, I mean."

Daisuke took Takeru's hand in both of his and held it up under Takeru's own nose. Takeru obediently bent down to smell them. They _did_ smell good, and Takeru could see why Daisuke found the smell relaxing. 

"Beautiful, aren't they?"

Takeru nodded slowly, withdrawing his hand a little to look at the small, delicate flower blossoms on his palm. They were crushed and slightly wet from where he had squished them in his fist, but they still looked beautiful. 

They still looked hopeful, as odd as it sounded. As if they knew that, no matter how squashed and mangled they became, their smell would still be as strong and sweet as ever. Takeru had the feeling that there was more meaning to that thought than appeared on the surface. 

He looked up at Daisuke, and suddenly knew that Daisuke had already learned this lesson, and was perhaps trying to teach him the lesson right now. 

Daisuke continued smiling softly at him, his hands still cradling Takeru's, though they didn't need to be. Takeru stared at him for a few more seconds before turning away quickly, blushing more than before, staring tensely down at the water. 

The petals fluttered to the ground when his hands moved to rest on the grass. Daisuke continued looking at him for a few more seconds before returning his gaze to the still, black water. The sakura petals already in the water drew attention to them immediately, in the same way a ray of light will attract the eyes when shining amongst darkness. 

Suddenly, Daisuke rose to his feet. Takeru turned to look up at him, frowning slightly, as if trying to figure out why Daisuke had stood so quickly. Finding no answer, he asked out loud, "What are you doing?"

Daisuke smiled down at him. "I've heard that ice cream helps when you're down. What do you say to me treating you to a cone?"

Takeru blinked, not understanding why Daisuke would do such a thing for him.

"Hey, I've been there before, remember?" Daisuke asked, though his eyes hinted that there was an ulterior motive. 

Takeru narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but then decided he could do with a little pampering. He stood and brushed himself off.

"Well, let's go then."

Daisuke's smile brightened again and he grabbed Takeru's wrist, directing him to the nearest ice cream parlor. Daisuke began talking animatedly about whatever he was thinking about at that moment, and Takeru did as best as he could to follow.

He thought about how Daisuke had been through the same thing he was going through right now much more often, and then thought about how happy Daisuke seemed right then. He was just as bright and cheerful as the sakura petals he had stopped Takeru from throwing into the dark lake. If Daisuke could get over the rejection, then why couldn't Takeru?

Takeru found himself smiling as he walked at Daisuke's side all the way down the sidewalk. 

Right then, he knew what Daisuke had been trying to show him by making him pay such close attention to the sakura blossoms. The fact that maybe Daisuke had really only been telling him about what a nice smell they had never crossed his mind. He had found truth in that day's life lesson, and he intended to keep a firm hold on it. 

Whether he knew it or not, Daisuke taught something special to Takeru that day. 

All he knew was that he had to cheer Takeru up, and with chocolate ice cream dripping off of the end of his chin and Takeru holding his stomach as he laughed at how stupid it looked, all he cared about was that he was accomplishing it rather nicely.


End file.
